He calls it “Unselected Committee” and its appearance before it is uncertain, to say the least.
Certainly, Donald Trump has shown no inclination in the wake his quote.
“The committee is a total BUST that has only served to further divide our country,” he said on his media platform Truth Social.
From the start, he dismissed these Congressional hearings as a political witch hunt.
Given his continuing record of resisting legal investigations, pulling a former president before this particular group of prosecutors would suggest a struggle: some forensic analysts in the United States are already calling the move “symbolic”.
At this, the commission’s last scheduled hearing on January 6, the citation may have taken the title, but the new Capitol assault movie has gripped audiences.
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The January 6 committee released unedited footage of congressional leaders phoning officials for help during the assault.
There was a compelling new video of Congress leaders, ash-colored in secure rooms under the Capitol building, negotiating National Guard troops to come and protect their lives and their institution.
It provided a new perspective to this prime-time hearing that brought the US public back to the reality of the January 6, 2021 crisis.
The committee presentation was painstakingly crafted over four months and the grand finale had the best footage.
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Trump is suing the January 6 uprising
It was the visual aid to string together the threads of this committee’s uprising story, which is said to put Donald Trump at the center, before and after the 2020 election.
Vice President Liz Cheney says she has “enough information to consider criminal referrals” and this could be the key to what happens next.
After setting up a “proxy procedure”, the big question will be about the actual prosecution, in a proper courtroom, which is a decision of the United States Department of Justice.
Image: AP
A “real prosecution” would expose much of the same detail, no doubt, but would be tested in court; open to debate and less open to accusations of political motivation.
Barring a progression to a criminal trial, the commission will be satisfied, for now, with its business.
Read more:
Assault on the Capitol: how four hours of chaos unfolded
The “medieval battle scene”
Striking testimony can help the committee resonate with the public
Its members are not fans of Donald Trump and his reshaping of the Republican Party.
They realize that there is never a bad time to remind a voting public of an individual’s influence in undermining democracy – as they would say – but a good time is probably a month before their midterm elections.
